“God only knows how many Kellogg Epic Roosters were made, in the 6 colors, and he ain’t telling.”

That little quote covers an awful lot of the handmade Glass Animals Viking produced from 1964 to 1968. I do know the Epic Rooster was first made in 1964.

The Bluenique Epic Rooster #1321, standing 9.5 Inches, was shown on Page 6 of the 1964 Viking Catalog. The Rooster sold for $5.00 Retail in 1964 with the Ruby one bringing $6.00. The Rooster was listed in the 1964 Viking Glass Catalog in 5 colors, Avocado (Green), Bluenique, Honey (Amber), Persimmon and Ruby Red.

The Ruby Rooster is by far the most elusive and expensive today. Only 4 of the Ruby Roosters have sold on Ebay in the past year and they averaged $200 each.

Glass Review, Volume 8, Number 11 - November, 1978 - An article titled "Viking to Reissue Several Animals" by Roserita Ziegler.Those fortunate enough to visit the Viking showroom in New Martinsville, West Virginia, during the fall of 1978 will have the opportunity to purchase a special series of Glass Animals to be sold only in New Martinsville.
Scheduled for limited production are a Green Duck, a Red and Crystal Rooster, Crystal Shepard Dog and a Crystal Cat and Rabbit. These figurals will be made from Viking molds that have not been used since the 60's.
Available in September were the Green Duck and the Ruby Rooster.
The saucy Duck is a shade lighter than Emerald Green. He is perched on a round base 2 3/4 inches and is 5 inches tall. His perky appearance is due to the upward slant of his beak and his pointed tail! Approximately 350 Ducks were produced so count yourself lucky if you have one.
Happy to pose in Photo #1 (Shown in the article) is the Proud and Beautiful Ruby Red Rooster with the original Viking Label.He will be Highly Prized as difficulty in unmolding limited the number available to approximately 56. Some of the 56 show signs of "difficult birth" and have straw marks.

Only the Viking Rose is bringing a higher price. Dealers tell me they can sell the Viking Animals, they just can’t find them. Occasionally one will sneak by at a low price on Ebay, if listed wrong, when listed under Glass Rooster.

The Bluenique Epic Rooster is also bringing good money on and off Ebay. Two of these elusive birds sold for over $100, with one going for $159, on Ebay. I think they were both a bargain. Our Network of Viking Collectors is growing daily and believe me in a year or so there will not be enough Ruby and Bluenique Roosters to fill the demand. These are both highly sought after colors.

I go to a lot of Antique and Glass shows in the upper Midwest and I never see these Roosters. Only 6 of the Bluenique ones sold on Ebay, that I recorded, in the last year. One went for as low as $52.50, I thought I should buy a duplicate, and I let it go to another lucky Viking Collector.

That is what makes collecting Viking Glass so much fun today. Much of the information about our Collectable has not been published.

Viking only produced a 4 Page Supplement for the 1965 Catalog. This supplement only listed new items Viking added to the line so Retailers had to use the 1964 Catalog for orders.

The 1966 – 1967 Viking Catalog pictured the Amber Epic Rooster on Page 6 along with the other Glass Animals of that period. This was the last Catalog entry for the Rooster by Viking.

The Avocado Rooster is actually harder to find than the Bluenique one. I only recorded 3 Avocado Roosters sales on Ebay in the past year. I may have missed one, but even if I did, all of the ones that sold brought a $51.78 average. Now I am really calling these a bargain BUT we all know Avocado Viking is not everyone’s favorite color.

Amber was a good seller in the 60's but the Amber Rooster still brings good money!

Amber is one of the most often seen colors in all of Viking Glass. It really doesn’t make any difference what your favorite Viking pattern is Amber is the easiest one to find when you need to complete a set. There were 6 Amber Epic Roosters sold on Ebay last year, that I recorded, again even if I missed one or two they average sale was just short of $60 each.

The Rule of 72 makes these Viking Roosters a very good investment. Do the math, these Roosters sold for $5.00 back in 1964, a little over 40 years ago. Rule of 72 says things double every 10 years at 7.2%. On the average these Amber and Avocado Rooster are beating the Stock Market as an investment. PLUS! You get to look the pretty off them as they decorate your home and appreciate in value.

This is NOT an Amberina Rooster! Many people call this Amberina when the Persimmon Color bleeds to the Yellow side. Amberina is a glass piece with Yellow bottom and a Red Top color. You must remember that these Viking Glass Animals were mold blown and hand made. No 2 are going to be perfectly alike especially in the lighter colors. Some people collect for certain colors but for me this Rooster is Persimmon and probably a poor example at that.

AGAIN! a pretty good investment if you bought your Persimmon Rooster in 1964 for $5.00. There were 6 Persimmon Rooster sales on Ebay last year that I recorded. They averaged $59.02 each. The Rule of 72 is holding up.

The Ruby Red and Bluenique Roosters are Wall Street Blue Chipper's. Now the other Three make pretty good Trades for NASDAC Roosters!!

NOW YOU WILL REALIZE WHY YOU ARE A MEMBER OF OUR VIKING GLASS NETWORK!

Viking changed hands in July of 1986 and was taken over by Dalzell in 1987. In the 1989 Dalzell Viking Catalog the Catalog began to show the old Viking Animal Molds that Dalzell brought out of storage.

I have a letter Dated January 13, 1989 that list:
“Dalzell Animals – additions include SQUIRREL and WOLFHOUND.”

They began to produce the Viking Glass Animals in Crystal, Crystal Satin and Classic Black, Colors Viking had not made earlier, starting with 13 of the old molds.

The Epic Rooster was not shown until the 1994 Dalzell Catalog when it was pictured on Page 11 with the Crystal Epic Cat and Dog. I do not believe Viking made any of these Animals in Crystal or Black earlier. There were no Black Roosters shown in any Price List so I am sure they were not made. The 1994 Dalzell Price guide only list the Rooster in Crystal and selling for $20.

I saw one of these Crystal Roosters sell for over $200. Now that is a good return on investment in 10 short years.